


The Gifts of the Magi

by Skeiler



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad Outcomes, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Good Intentions, Inspired by The Gift of the Magi - O. Henry, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 06:12:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13160943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeiler/pseuds/Skeiler
Summary: Gabe and Jack both want to do something extra special for the other for Christmas, but their best intentions don't quite work out as they expected.





	The Gifts of the Magi

**Author's Note:**

> Written for mujotan on tumblr for the R76 Secret Santa on tumblr! I hope you enjoy this AU. XD

One thousand dollars. That was what Jack thought he needed to get his granddad’s old motorcycle running again. The thing leaked oil like a sieve, it _definitely_ needed new brakes, and the front suspension fork probably needed rebuilding. That meant tracking down original replacement parts, or having them custom made somewhere nearby. To Gabe it hardly seemed like it was worth it, but the motorcycle meant a lot to Jack, and Jack meant a lot to Gabe, and it was going to be their last Christmas in college together this year, and Gabe really wanted to do something special.

But a thousand dollars was a lot to come up with in a couple of months, even for a relatively lucky kid like Gabe with fat scholarships covering his tuition and most of his living expenses. A thousand dollars wasn’t nothing, especially when it could be spent on a plane ticket home to LA for the first time in three years, with enough left over to fly Jack out and introduce him to Gabe’s family. Still, there’d be plenty of time for that later — and the motorcycle in working and _safe_ condition meant he and Jack could take off on the road trip they’d always talked about doing to visit Indiana and wend their way across country to California and then they’d be in LA so really a plane ticket wasn’t necessary.

But now it was October and Gabe had sold everything he had to sell — including the sewing machine his abuela had given him and its antique table _her_ abuela had given her — and he was short of having even _half_ of what he wanted to give to Jack.

Which was how Gabe found himself sitting in a waiting room with a dozen other guys waiting to be interviewed for a research study that promised _the full grand_ he needed if only Gabe would let some hot shot researchers from the biomed department test some new genetic editing technique on him. The lead researcher — some Irish scientist — had been all over the news lately for patenting this technique and getting it to human trial stage, and from looking over the consent paperwork, it didn’t seem like much to risk for the thousand bucks he needed. Aside from the usual death, stroke, coma, whatever risks, it seemed like the worst that might happen is that Gabe might have “patches of discoloration” on areas of his body unlikely to be seen regularly by anyone but himself — or Jack. But hey, for those minor risks in one fell swoop he’d have the money Jack needed to fix up his bike _and_ enough for them to set aside a nice starter fund for their trip.

“Gabriel Reyes.”

Gabe heard his name and stood up, decision made.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jack walked out of his last final exam and heaved a deep sigh. He wasn’t confident about the essay he’d just written on the history of world cinema — he’d panicked and written about _Napoleon Dynamite_ of all things — but at least it was over and now he could look forward to four weeks of intersession, lots of good food, time curled up with Gabe, and no responsibilities except dragging his ass to basketball practice on time every morning.

But the day after tomorrow they’d be on a plane to Los Angeles for a week. Jack had worked it all out with Gabe’s mom to surprise Gabe for Christmas, and Jack couldn’t wait to see the look on Gabe’s face when he opened his card and saw their tickets. Maybe Gabe would finally stop complaining about the lack of “real” Mexican food in their sleepy college town or Jack’s “weak” excuse for chili if he got a week of his mom’s home cooking and chilling on a sunny beach. (Jack was pointedly ignoring that half of LA county seemed to be on fire, according to the news — surely even a wildfire couldn’t ruin a _beach_.)

Jack pulled his jacket tighter around himself in a futile attempt to keep the cold of the north wind from freezing him to death and hurried toward the bus stop to catch his ride to Gabe’s apartment. Jack and Gabe had been so busy for the past month, it seemed, that they’d barely had time to see each other for longer than a few cuddles and kisses snuck in the library between the stacks. Every once in a while, when Jack’s basketball team commitment kept him in practice or on the road too much, he had to resist the urge to up and quit the team. Plus Gabe had been stressing about his grad school applications, and Jack was pretty sure the stress was making Gabe sick — he’d seemed pallid and fevered the last few times they’d been together.

But, Jack thought as he jumped onto the bus towards Gabe’s, now they had the chance to spend every minute in each other’s pockets and just _relax_.

When he let himself into Gabe’s apartment, Jack was surprised by how quiet and dark it was. Every window was covered — some with blankets, even — and the thermostat had been set really high. Jack started sweating under his coat as soon as he closed the front door.

“Gabe?” he called out. A little worm of worry started squirming in the pit of his stomach. “Hey, Gabe, you home?”

Jack searched methodically through the living room and kitchen for any sign of life, then went into Gabe’s bedroom. The bed was unmade and an odor of an unwashed and sweaty body hung in the air. Jack turned on the overhead light and glanced around. No sign of Gabe. Jack was beginning to seriously panic when he heard a weak groan from the bathroom. Gabe was laying on the bathroom floor, curled up in a blanket and still shivering.

“Gabe! Oh my God!” Jack shouted as he fell to the floor next to his boyfriend. “What’s wrong?”

Gabe groaned and shielded his eyes from the light coming from the bedroom. “Hey, Jack…”

“Gabe, you look awful — are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?” Gabe _did_ look awful — he was sallow and sweating, his skin felt like it was burning up and he had lost so much weight Jack was shocked by the prominence of his collarbones. Jack was almost frantic as his hands moved over Gabriel’s face, neck, shoulders, assessing the state of him. “What’s wrong with you, what can I do?”

“ ‘M fine, Jack, just the flu or something,” Gabe said weakly. “You should probably stay away from me, Coach Petras would never forgive me if I got you sick.”

Jack sat back against the tub, but kept his hand on Gabe’s forehead. “Gabe, you should probably go to the hospital or something.”

“Nah, don’t need to,” Gabe murmured. “Just help me get back in bed. And turn off the light.”

Jack did, and then busied himself around the apartment straightening things and getting Gabe a glass of water and fixing a small trash can for Gabe to throw up into if he needed to. When he couldn’t think of anything else to do, he sat down on the edge of Gabe’s bed and gently held his hand. Suddenly he thought of the plane tickets tucked into the card in his jacket pocket.

“Gabe, how long have you been sick?” Jack asked, worriedly. “Are you feeling any better? Do you think you’d… feel any better by, like… the day after tomorrow?”

“Why?” Gabe asked without opening his eyes.

“Well… I bought two plane tickets to LA for us for Friday,” Jack confessed. He pulled the card out of his pocket and looked at it, the way he’d try to write Gabe’s name in his nicest cursive on the envelope.

Gabe’s eyes opened in surprise. “Shit, Jack… Where did you get the money??”

Jack sighed and tucked the card back into his pocket. “I decided to go ahead and sell my grandpa’s old motorcycle. I’m never going to get to fix it up and even if I did… We’ll both be too busy to ever take a real road trip on it. I just figured it’d mean more to you to get to go home for Christmas.”

Gabe stared at Jack in shock. “Aw, Jack… no… I-”

Whatever Gabe was going to say was cut short by a wracking cough that overtook him. Jack held Gabe as tightly as he could until the coughing fit stopped, rubbing gentle circles on Gabe’s back. Finally Gabe laid back down, then gestured to the drawer in his side table. Jack opened it and found an envelope with his name on it and $1450 inside.

“Gabe… where’d you get this kind of cash?” Jack asked.

“Sold my sewing machine… I never have time to sew any more anyway…” Gabe said. Then, in a slightly lower voice he said hurriedly, “And I signed up for this research study… think whatever they gave me must have shot my immune system, I just keep getting sick, but it’s nothing to worry about really, they said it was totally safe.”

“Wait…” Jack began, “you didn’t sign up for the genetics research study they’ve been talking about all over campus, did you? The O’Deorain lab one? People have been ending up in the hospital because of it! What were you _thinking_ , Gabe??”

“I was thinking it was an easy way to get the money for _you_ to fix up your _stupid motorcycle_ ,” Gabe said defensively. He closed his eyes. “I really wanted to take off and see the Grand Canyon with you.”

Jack shook his head. “Wow, we’re two Gift of the Magi idiots, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Gabe agreed. “Next year let’s just talk about what to give each other for Christmas.”

Jack dropped both cards into the nightstand drawer and laid down next to Gabe. When Gabe protested that Jack would just get sick and Jack couldn’t risk his basketball scholarship, Jack just silenced him with a kiss. “We might as well be sick together.”

They laid there in the dark and silent room for Jack didn’t know how long until suddenly Gabe gave a weak laugh. “Hey, maybe whatever they did to me in that trial will give me superpowers.”

 

 

Epilogue:

 

“Where is my son?” Mrs. Reyes asked as soon as Jack unlocked Gabe’s front door for her.

“In the bedroom,” Jack replied as he followed her inside. They’d decided to call and throw themselves on the mercy of the airline and had managed to get their two tickets to LA turned into one ticket for Gabe’s mom (for an extra $450 fee), and now here she was pulling a… shoe? Out of her handbag?

“ _Gabrielito Reyes, qué hiciste? Idiota! ¿Qué diría tu abuela?”_

Jack listened to her scold Gabriel and smiled. It wasn’t the Christmas he’d envisioned, but it would probably do just as well.


End file.
